Come dancing with Len Goodman

LAST Friday morning I got a call from the company dealing with the publicity for Strictly Come Dancing's arena tour. The show's judge, dance legend and Dartford resident Len Goodman has five minutes to spare and he is on the line now. Initially, I thought, Oh no. I have no questions prepared'. Good job I, like millions of others, am a firm fan of the Strictly TV show. And Len returns the respect. It turns out Len is a fan of News Shopper.

"It's ok," he says as I thank him for taking time out of his schedule. "It's because I like News Shopper. I get it at home in Dartford."

I was firmly informed by the PR I have just five minutes but once Len get's talking about his clear passion; dancing it's closer to 10.

He's currently on the road with the Strictly Come Dancing tour, which will stop off at The O2 this week for three, nearly sold out, shows.

"It differs from the show but only for me in a positive way," Len said of the tour. "Everything is just like being at the Strictly Come Dancing television studios but instead of having two or three hundred people watching you've got 10,000, so the atmosphere is incredible."

Len says in the TV studio where Strictly is filmed it's easy to forget there's an audience of millions watching from home. Not so easy to forget in an arena.

He said: "Suddenly you get thrust into this huge arena and everything is exaggerated. The booing for Craig, the cheering if a good thing is said, it's just like Strictly Come Dancing the Party.

"The floor is huge, the lighting is fantastic and I'm not just saying this to bump the show up, I think it's more or less sold out everywhere its going."

He's clearly a huge fan now but Len admits he's not always been so sure the format would be a success.

"When they first asked me to do it I wasn't sure how it would possibly work in an arena environment. But every time I go into the arena I am astounded."

Compered by Kate Thornton and with dancing stars such as Matt Di Angelo, Zoe Ball, Letitia Dean and Denise Lewis, the tour shares the same format as the TV show and invites the audience to place their votes.

"She creates such a great atmosphere to start with and introduces the couples as the walk down the stairs," said Len of the glam former Ex-Factor host.

"Kate does the job of Bruce and Tess because she introduces the couple, and after they've danced she has a little chat with them and so on. It's just a wonderful, wonderful atmosphere."

Len added: "We give our opinions and mark it as you would see on the TV. And the audience, if they've got their mobiles with them, can text in their results if they wish to. And money goes to Children in Need.

"With the programme the audience are given paddles the same as we have, one to 10, so when a couple are dancing they're waving all their numbers up at us. It creates a good environment.

" Len claims he had no idea Strictly would evolve into the ratings-hogging success it did.

"No. I didn't and I know that the BBC didn't," he said.

"BBC gets lots of different ideas for shows and some I guess it thinks some are going to be sure fire success and are flops and some it does't think will go down well are incredible.

"But I think Strictly Come Dancing has absolutely shocked everyone. Not only all of us who were involved as judges and so on but the BBC.

"Who'd of thought it would be in nearly 30 countries now and in every country it's the number one show on its day? So it's just been an absolute phenomenon."

If it sounds like Len is genuinely shocked by the show's appeal that's because in the early days he wasn't convinced the set-up would work.

"I didn't think it could work because at first I though the professionals will not be able to teach their celebrities, who have never danced, to any standard whatsoever in a week," he said. "But they do the most fantastic job and the standard of dancing is brilliant."

And Len has no qualms in identifying favourites.

"No, it's not hard for me to say. I think the best dance couple was Alisha in the last series. She was truly amazing.

"I also like the ones who are a little bit challenged as dancers as well because they've come to the show, the Chris Parkers, the Kate Galloways, and the Fiona Phillips and the Quentin Wilsons and these people know they're not much good but it's still good to see them have a go and see people who are at least prepared to struggle and try."

It will come as no surprise Len is pleased with the dance resurgence the show inspired. He says in every country the show airs, the ballroom dance world has been truly revitalised.

"We've never had the amounts of new pupils come into the studios since the 50s that we get no. It's been incredible.

"We just to do anything to keep the dance school running. So any of this fads which come along we always jump on the band wagon, like Saturday Night Fever and different things. But now we're totally involved in teaching people ballroom and Latin-American, whether it's adults, children or whatever."

Len says aside from the physical and social benefits of dance, it's a truly rewarding skill to have.

"You're learning a social skill," he said. "There comes a time in everyone's life where they're at a wedding or wherever and they'll see someone get up and do a jive or a waltz for example and it will just push them to think I wish I could do that.' I think the benefits are fantastic."

Despite his Strictly fame, Len's commitment to dance means he even makes time to return to his Dartford-based dance school as often as he can.

He said: "Obviously I've got quite involved with Strictly now and doing this tour so, but as soon as I'm home and if I'm only home on this tour for a day, I go up to studio.

"They like to see me. It's a bit like having a pub and never seeing the landlord."

And what about dancing himself?

"I don't dance very much anymore. Most people wouldn't want to see me dance. I'm a little bit past my sell by date," he laughs.

Far from its sell by date however, Strictly has another series in the pipeline for this later this year.

Len said: "The new series starts again in the autumn, so I'm looking forward to that. I think it will go forever as long as they get an interesting mix of celebrities, sports people and so on, it could run forever."

Strictly Come Dancing Tour at The O2, Greenwich. Feb 13 to Feb 15.